Monday, April 23, 2007

another birthday post

Many years ago, I went on a band trip with our high school to attend MusicFest Canada in Calgary, Alberta. We were really excited because the local all-boys school (that had just invited girls to attend) was also going to be there.

While exploring the hotel, my friend Laura and I bumped into some guys she knew. Laura and I wound up spending a LOT of time with the St Charles boys, exploring the hotel and Calgary, and having fun adventures at a Stanley Cup Game and the Light Rail Train system. We had a great time there, and I struck up a friendship with two guys named Nick and Steve...

It's amazing to think about how a chance meeting during a band trip led to so many different things happening. I dated Nick for over 2 years, became extremely good friends with Steve (before certain events caused a long rift that took a lot of years to fix), and our friends from school became friends with them too, particularly a girl named Kim.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I was lucky enough to be there to see Kim & Steve way back when they got together - a young couple who were joined at the hip pretty much from the beginning. Boy the pictures I could show...

We've been through some of the best times I can remember: a group of high school friends having camp-outs together in the Northern Ontario bush, gone to concerts, road trips, band trips, every Semi-Formal we were allowed to attend (age restriction), and then trips to visit when they moved to London. I'll never forget sitting around campfires, listening to the guys play guitar under the stars, chattering about the "latest episode of Friends", and using as many Simpons references as possible - I swear those guys can make any situation into something from that show. We had our typical high school dramas, but somehow everybody stayed friends.

Steve, Kim, and Laura (visit their blogs and you might get an idea why I love them all so much), are the only ones from those days that I still keep in touch with now. But that magic is still there when we get together - that sense of comfort with each other, and stream of "remember when we?" stories. Plus there have been some new adventures too.

So today Steve celebrates his 28th birthday. When I called to wish him a Happy Birthday, I asked what he was doing (picturing all of the times we used to do birthday nights at East Side Marios), and he said "staying home with the wife and the boy".

Well, Steve - I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate your birthday.

I'm glad that we've been friends for so long, and even more so that stuff in the past did stay there. I've always been thankful that you and Kim were together - no person in the world could ever be better for her.

I hope you had a great birthday - and am sure you did. Next year we definitely have to try and get to East Sides - we can introduce Gordie to the tradition :)

Since I couldn't buy you a present, I give you a very bad picture of me at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Since I couldn't piss off a balcony, this seemed like next best thing.

Happy Birthday!!!

Miss you all :)

And finally we have a picture proving what a great dad Steve is! Teaching his son abouthockey before he could even talk :)

About Me

When I was in high school, I imagined that at 29 I'd be married with a couple of kids, working in my career job, and living in a house. I'm engaged, have just climbed onto the bottom rung of the long ladder in my teaching career, have two cats and live in an apartment. Sometimes things take a little longer than we expect...